


There is No War

by emberbent



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:35:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27066517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emberbent/pseuds/emberbent
Summary: Joo Dee returns to her hometown after a year away in the big city.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	There is No War

**Author's Note:**

> Since it’s Spoopy Month and I’ve been wanting to write some kind of short story, I decided to write this one-shot based on [this post.](https://atlaculture.tumblr.com/post/627890866987712512/joo-dee-has-an-amazing-name) Please enjoy!

Nianzhen perched at the bar of her family’s tea shop, hands resting on the smooth, familiar wood grain. A weight bore down on her. The fragrance of green tea and toasted rice enveloped her, so much stronger than she remembered. Exhausted, she stared, eyes unfocused, at the wall lined with ceramic pots. She couldn’t remember how she got here.

Yingyue came out from the kitchen and nearly dropped a stack of clean saucers when she saw her little sister at the bar, her peridot eyes going as round as her face. Nianzhen had gone to Ba Sing Se a year ago to work. Their family hadn’t heard much from her, which might have been expected from a young woman living her own life in the big city. Except Yingyue had overheard a patron several months ago whispering of unrest in Ba Sing Se; ever since then, she and her family had worried.

Setting the saucers down, she rushed to Nianzhen, embracing her. “I didn’t know you were coming home!” she exclaimed. “It’s so good to see you!”

Dazed, Nianzhen weakly draped her arms around her sister’s waist. Then, with a rush of panic swelling in her, she squeezed Yingyue desperately, as tight as she could, until her sister gently pried herself away.

“Are you hungry? Thirsty? Here, let me get you some tea.” Yingyue poured a cup of freshly-brewed dragon well, Nianzhen’s favorite, and slid it in front of her. The young woman picked up the cup and slowly brought it to her mouth. Her limbs were heavy. Her hands trembled so much that she set the cup back down for fear of spilling.

“So, tell me about the big city! Is it everything you dreamed?” Yingyue leaned on her elbows across the bar.

_She hurried through the crowded, narrow streets of the lower ring. Blood rushed through her ears, blocking out every sound except her ragged breath. The hem of her spring-green dress was black with mud._

“Oh, it’s wonderful,” Nianzhen offered. “There’s shopping, nightlife, and so many restaurants and gardens. We’re so lucky to have walls to help keep us safe.”

“Restaurants, huh? Are the tea houses better than ours?”

Nianzhen smiled.

_From the fathomless dark of an alleyway, someone grabbed her arm. Clamped a hand down over her mouth to stifle her scream. It’s okay, they hissed. I’m here to get you out._

Uncle Bowen appeared from the kitchen. Seeing Nianzhen, the jovial grin he always wore faltered. “Oh. Nianzhen,” he said softly, and then recovered. “It’s good to have you home. We didn’t know you were coming. I’ll have auntie bring you something to eat.”

He gestured for Yingyue to follow him into the kitchen. From behind the thin wooden door, she heard Bowen hiss, “Be careful what you say around her. She may be home, but she could very well still be _working,_ if you know what I mean.”

Yingyue protested - she knew her sister. Bowen whispered something inaudible. Yingyue came back to her place behind the bar, looking apologetic. “Did you hear any of that? I’m so sorry.”

_She nearly suffocated inside the cargo car, but the train reached its destination at last, and the man pulled her out onto a familiar road on the outskirts of her hometown. Go south, he instructed, pointing down the road. Behind them, the walled city loomed. Hurry, and don’t let yourself be seen._

Nianzhen sipped from her tea cup. She knew how her uncle was. Serenely, she replied, “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure?” Yingyue reached for Nianzhen’s chilly hand. “You don’t seem like yourself. Is everything okay? In the city?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Nianzhen returned. “Everyone is safe there.”

Yingyue’s eyes narrowed. “Sure,” she sounded, and then glanced around her to make sure no one was within earshot before she leaned over the bar again. “But we’ve heard rumors. Bad ones, about the government. We hear there’s some kind of war?”

Nianzhen locked eyes with her sister and peered into her face. Pleading. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. “There is no war in Ba Sing Se,” she whispered.

The front door swung open. A tall figure in long green robes made his silent way to the bar, perching beside Nianzhen. His face was obscured by the brim of his wide hat, but she didn’t need to look at him to recognize him. His long, honorable queue of black hair was a snake slithering down his spine. His voice was cold, wet fingers on her cheeks.

“Joo Dee,” he purred. “The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai.”

There was no one behind the bar. The tea house faded from her view. “I am honored to accept his invitation.”

She sat in the familiar stone chair. Her hands, feet, and head were restrained by hand-shaped rocks. On the metal track that encircled the chair, the lantern had stopped revolving.

“I’m disappointed, Joo Dee,” Long Feng said with an edge of cruelty. “I expected you to refuse the offer of escape.”

Around her, lanterns revolved around other chairs, around other Joo Dees. The tranquil voices of Dai Li agents narrated stories to them, offered them choices. The hypnotized women flatly offered their responses.

“Please,” she mouthed. Her voice caught in her parched throat. “Please. May I try again? I would never betray our great city. It’s just that it was so nice to see my sister, and --”

“You have shown a propensity for disloyalty,” Long Feng interrupted. “Such behavior will not be tolerated.”

With a disinterested flourish of his hands, he released her binds. Two agents appeared on either side of her, hauling her out of the chair and dragging her toward the heavy earthen door at the back wall - the one she’d never seen anyone come back out from.

“No, _PLEASE!”_ she shrieked in panic, flailing uselessly against the agents’ grasp. “I’m loyal! I can do better!”

But he had moved on. The agents opened the door and dragged her inside with them, sealing it closed with a sickening rumble of stone.


End file.
